Tag Archives: aec

After several years under the leadership of the Arizona Technology Council, the Arizona Energy Consortium (AEC) today announced the formation of its own 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Comprised of over 200 members, the AEC is the only all-encompassing energy group in Arizona. The AEC — co-chaired by Michelle De Blasi, an environmental and energy law partner with the law firm of Gammage & Burnham, and Chris Davey, president of EnviroMission, Inc. — will continue to act as a resource for the Council on energy policy issues.

“Both the Arizona Technology Council and the AEC are proud to have reached this momentous occasion where a newly formed organization has realized the ability to stand on its own,” said Steven G. Zylstra, the Council’s president and CEO. “As a state organization that represents a wide range of types of businesses from various technology industries, the Council is proud to have served as an initial home for the AEC. The consortium has functioned exactly as expected in working harmoniously and collaboratively for the common interest of the state’s energy sector. We wish them all the best in their new endeavor.”

The AEC was originally established as a business consortium for Arizona’s energy industry. “By combining business leadership with guidance for good public policy, the AEC has worked hard since its inception to promote policies that will help strengthen the energy industry and reduce barriers to development,” said De Blasi. “We will continue to play an important role in helping Arizona’s energy industry achieve its full potential.”

With all of the recent policy changes affecting a sector of Arizona’s solar industry, Davey knows the importance of consistent policy in supporting an emerging industry.

“In an ever-changing energy market, the AEC will continue with its collaboration with key stakeholders to develop the Arizona Energy Roadmap and Solar Strategic Plan,” said Davey, who is developing a cutting-edge utility scale solar energy project in Arizona. “We will continue working with others to build on the foundations of a long-term, statewide plan for the energy industry to ensure it is a key economic driver for the state and the region as a whole.”

States with the most successful industry clusters have a common characteristic — unwavering support from government, industry and the public. The oil and gas industry in Texas was built with support for the industry from all levels. Such support is not garnered unless the industry has a common voice in articulating its needs.

To some extent, Arizona has a robust energy industry. With the largest nuclear power plant in the nation, as well as hydropower and coal resources, our state wields considerable strength in contributing to the region’s power generation. However, as our current energy resources inevitably age and require upgrades or replacements, it is critical that Arizona is strategic about its future resources. It is for that reason that the Arizona Energy Consortium (AEC) recently released the Arizona Energy Roadmap, as a methodology for creating a strategic focus for the growth and further development of the energy industry.

As an environmental and energy attorney working heavily in the energy sector, I have experienced first-hand where the issues lie in the development of energy projects. Whether representing a manufacturer, developer, utility, investor or energy off taker, I have witnessed that any unnecessary barriers to getting projects to market limit Arizona’s ability to grow its industry. It is with this focus in mind that I helped establish and co-chair the AEC. Not only to remove the unnecessary barriers, but also to help create a common voice for our energy industry.

Creating a long-term plan for a state with such a diverse energy mix does not come without its challenges. For instance, sometimes the more established sectors such as coal and natural gas do not necessarily support or understand the need for an emerging renewable energy industry. In fact, in many cases the fossil fuel and renewable energy sectors are at odds because they feel they are in direct competition with each other. However, the AEC is working to educate both sectors on how they can support one another. A “winner take all” approach is not the desired outcome since a diverse energy mix creates a more stable, secure and reliable industry. By working together to find ways traditional fossil fuels can firm intermittent renewable power, as well as utilize common infrastructure, the sectors are beginning to speak, although slowly, with a common message.

Another barrier to development is inefficient permitting processes. Regardless of the technology, permitting delays cost time and money and in many instances can delay a project indefinitely. Since the creation of energy generation projects drives the need for manufacturing, permitting delays also create issues for the growth of the industry cluster. If there are fewer projects coming online, then there are fewer manufacturers who will be attracted to the state to site their facilities. Some of Arizona’s jurisdictions have had success reducing permitting timeframes to better support industry. The AEC is working to continue this process statewide for utility-scale projects, as well as support other entities working to improve the process for distributed generation.

Arizona has the opportunity to benefit from a robust energy economy if it can only address the redundancy in permitting and the confusing messaging. The AEC is focusing these efforts in an attempt to drive economic development, a diversified energy mix and higher paying jobs.

Michelle De Blasi, co-chair of the Arizona Energy Consortium, is a shareholder in the Phoenix office of international law firm Greenberg Traurig. De Blasi focuses her practice on environmental law, with an emphasis on natural resources matters. She advises clients on energy and environmental sustainability, including traditional and renewable energy project permitting, climate change, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Imagine Arizona as the energy hub of the Southwest — where major regional transmission lines tie into infrastructure in the state and serve a growing regional demand for energy. Arizona would be a place where an increasing percentage of jobs are related to the energy industry, whether in manufacturing, generation, transmission, energy efficiency, service or technology innovation. Many of these jobs would be higher-wage jobs requiring a skilled labor force fed by Arizona’s schools and universities. Arizona could be a hub of energy-sector jobs, with factories making equipment for the industry and power plants shipping electricity to neighboring states via new power lines, all contributing to a better economy.

That is the essence of the Arizona Energy Consortium’s Energy Roadmap, which the group hopes with be a catalyst for the state’s energy industry in the same way Arizona’s Bioscience Roadmap helped the state increase bioscience jobs by 41 percent and helped increase the number of bioscience establishments by 27 percent during its 10-year plan.

“It was important to create this document to give the energy industry a unified voice and direction,” said said Michelle De Blasi, co-chair of the AEC and a shareholder at Greenberg Traurig. “The energy industry is going to be here forever. We are always going to need energy. So the Roadmap was designed to make the industry better for everyone — consumers, developers, legislators. So it was critical that we get it right.”

This is the vision the Roadmap hopes to realize over the next decade: Arizona is the energy hub of the Southwest, with a diverse energy mix supporting reliable transmission, a strong base of manufacturing facilities, increased numbers of higher wage jobs, and world-class research institutions, resulting in increased economic development for the state and region.

Once that vision is realized, De Blasi said the state can expect to reap these benefits:
• Enhanced job creation and higher-wage jobs within Arizona
• Increased state economic revenue
• Enhanced energy export potential
• Heightened energy self-sufficiency and national and state security
• Increased transmission reliability
• Continued low cost energy

“This Roadmap is going to help Arizona be looked at differently from outside its borders,” said Chris Davey, co-chair with De Blasi of the AEC and president of EnviroMission, which is developing a solar tower in Western Arizona. “The Roadmap will create a sense of certainty, which appeals to the finance community. So when they are looking to invest, that certainty creates a more attractive environment for developers and investors.”

Davey and De Blasi said they will be rolling out the Roadmap this year, presenting it to groups throughout the state. For more information on the Roadmap, visit aztechcouncil.org.

Valley businesswomen Kelly Billings and Mara Prendergast have launched a new marketing firm, Pivotal Marketing Partners, which specializes in the developer, architecture, engineering and construction community by providing strategic marketing collateral development and design as well as complete project pursuit services.

Billings and Prendergast both have been in the construction industry for more than a decade, most recently with The Weitz Company where they worked together for the past 3 years.

“It was just the right time for us in our careers and so far, we are receiving a great response from the industry,” Prendergast says. “We are finding that firms are ready to try a new approach – from strategy to design – and that’s where we can really provide unique perspectives and fresh ideas. That’s where we provide The Missing Piece to their marketing efforts.”

“Mara and I are passionate about delivering our clients the highest quality marketing product,” Billings says. “Our goal is to understand and clearly communicate the strengths and unique differentiators of our clients to support their growth in Arizona through winning project pursuits and developing sophisticated collateral.”

Prendergast, LEED AP, received her BS in Business Marketing from University of Nebraska and was employed with The Weitz Company for more than 3 years with prior marketing positions at HDR and Kiewit.

Billings, LEED AP, received a Bachelors in Business Administration from the University of North Dakota and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She was with The Weitz Company for 8 years and held prior positions with J.F. Shea Company and ABF Consulting Engineers.

Energy is the lifeblood of the economy. Arizona’s population and energy use are projected to grow for the foreseeable future and our economic prosperity is closely tied to the availability of reliable and affordable supplies of energy. While energy supply, energy demand and the natural environment are at a significant point of conflict, the effect of this tension can be mitigated through a collaborative effort among all stakeholders which can help create balance.

The need for collaboration is at the heart of why the Arizona Technology Council accepted the responsibility of leadership for the Arizona Energy Consortium (AEC) in July, 2011. The effort was established under the auspices of the City of Phoenix related to a grant from the Federal Department of Labor to establish strategies for integrating the workforce needs of targeted green energy industries in Arizona. The City, as part of the central region, was awarded a large portion of the Arizona State Energy Sector Partnership (SESP) grant that agreed to establish an energy consortium to define the workforce needs in the energy arena. Thus, the Arizona Energy Consortium was founded.

City leaders quickly realized they were addressing issues that went well beyond city borders and the workforce. When the City of Phoenix approached the Council about taking AEC under its wing, it made perfect sense to us. The Council has members from every side of the energy equation, from traditional production to renewable and energy conservation. We represent a statewide neutral ground that’s not tied to a particular technology, and can embody the entire energy industry.

Today, the AEC is comprised of more than 250 members from the state’s diverse energy sectors and is co-chaired by Michelle De Blasi, a partner with the law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP and chair of its Solar Energy Law Team, and Christopher Davey, executive director of EnviroMission. Constituents from city and state governments, utilities, law firms, conservation groups, private industry and universities are all working together to get real work done and break down the silos that have long existed in Arizona.

One of the charters of AEC is to serve as a supportive venue for current and new members locating or expanding their businesses within the state, as well as a repository for reliable information related to the energy industry. In addition, AEC is providing meaningful input towards the development of a long-term Energy Roadmap to strongly promote both economic development initiatives and continued technological innovation across the state. The end result will be similar to the long-term bioscience roadmap initiated by the Flinn Foundation designed to make the state’s life sciences sector globally competitive.

Can we achieve energy independence in our lifetime? Given Arizona’s unique abundance of sunshine, we certainly have an advantage on the production side of the equation in the renewable energy sector and are well positioned to become an exporter of energy. Arizona possesses many of the essential elements necessary to become a global leader in energy, but must strengthen its will, focus, collaboration and messaging, to achieve this goal. With everyone working together to raise all boats, AEC is taking this holistic approach.

The Arizona Energy Consortium is creating an Energy Roadmap to complement Arizona’s existing energy sources and bolster the state’s renewable sector, which stretches from solar and wind power producers to energy-efficiency companies.

Think about being a placekicker and each time you line up to attempt a game-winning field goal, the goal posts shift.

That’s how Chris Davey, executive director of EnviroMission, an Australian firm with plans to build a 2,800-foot solar energy tower in western Arizona, describes what it can be like to do business as a developer of energy projects in Arizona.

“If you’ve got one regulatory body that you answer to and it changes midway through the process, it’s going to impact how you develop a project,” Davey says. “If you’ve got various government agencies that are meant to respond within a certain period of time and they take five times as long to do that, it creates uncertainty. It changes timelines and constantly moves the end zone.”

To help ease some of the uncertainty in Arizona’s energy industry, Davey has teamed up with Michelle De Blasi, a partner with Quarles & Brady who focuses her practice on guiding renewable energy projects from concept to completion, to co-chair the Arizona Energy Consortium (AEC).

“The AEC initiatives aren’t an academic exercise,” Davey says. “The AEC is not driven by the utilities, nor academics, nor regulators. It’s driven by industry and what’s best to ensure Arizona has a diverse energy future that maintains reliability and cost effectiveness.”

The AEC — a committee of the Arizona Technology Council (AZTC) — was created to become a member-driven voice for Arizona’s growing energy industry.

“We don’t have an energy plan,” De Blasi says. “We don’t have one nationally and we certainly don’t have one in the state. There are bits and pieces of a plan going on at any given time, but we don’t have a plan that guides us. Without that plan, it’s very difficult for Arizona to compete with other states that have much more clarity in their policies and incentives.”

BORN OUT OF A NEED

The AEC’s broad cross sections of members — which include private, for profit and nonprofit companies; government and tribal organizations; and businesses that range in specialties from solar to title companies — show that there is a relatively unified belief that the state has to do something to become more competitive and friendly to the energy sector. And the AEC’s rapid growth — it has grown from about 40 members to more than 200 in less than six months — shows that the belief is strong.

“The AEC was born out of a necessity, from a true need for a platform for all affected stakeholders to come together and try to drive change, influence change and ultimately have an energy policy or roadmap in place that gets implemented and provides a fair playing surface,” Davey says. “We need a plan that says, ‘Here are the boundaries, you might be a little off on the left or on the right, but you need to know that you are still within those boundaries.’ As a developer, we have to know where the goal posts are.”

Part of establishing those boundaries is getting legislators, business owners and regulators on the same page.

Government policy has enormous impact on business, says Margaret LaBianca, a shareholder with Polsinelli Shughart, who counsels clients on a broad range of regulatory compliance and strategic considerations with respect to renewable energy. AEC pulls from all realms of the energy industry, which provides a broad view of the real-life implications of legal constraints and incentives. The upshot will be an ability to identify policies that best position Arizona’s energy industry for the long term.

What makes the AEC different from other energy groups in the state is that it is a statewide collaborative — members can sit in on meeting via video conferencing or by phone from anywhere in the world — that is applying its collective expertise to develop a long term strategic plan for energy industry growth. Also, the group isn’t focused on one energy sector. Fossil fuels, nuclear energy, natural gas and renewable energy are all treated the same and viewed from a big-picture perspective.

“This is probably strange because here I am pursuing a high-profile solar project and I’m the biggest advocate for energy diversity,” Davey says. “The AEC isn’t just another green initiative. It’s about energy and creating a diverse energy portfolio. Diversity is good for business.”

THE BUSINESS OF ENERGY

The AEC’s mission is to promote economic development initiatives and technological innovations across the state, organizers say. To accomplish that, the AEC works with other Arizona organizations, including the Arizona Governor’s Energy Office, GPEC, elected officials, the Arizona Corporation Commission, Arizona tribes, Arizona utilities and local governments.

Despite all the hard work completed by a number of Arizona stakeholders — from the governor’s office to GPEC — it is difficult for the industry to prosper while policies are unclear.

“It’s almost a daily call I get from people saying, ‘Hey, I’d like to set up my business there. What are your policies on this or that?’” De Blasi says. “I have to answer, ‘It’s not exactly clear.’ It’s frustrating for me and for potential businesses looking at Arizona, so sometimes they don’t come here. They go to California or New Mexico or Colorado where they have great policies.”

One fact that illustrates the problem: Phoenix-based De Blasi does more work with renewable energy in Massachusetts than she does in Arizona.

“If you look at the states that have been successful — California, Oregon, New Jersey, Massachusetts — it’s a wholesale buy-in,” De Blasi says. “It’s the governor. It’s the legislature. It’s the governing entity for their utilities. They go farther and have taken advantage of federal incentives to attract business.”

So why isn’t Arizona — with its 300 days of sunshine a year — a player?

“You’ve got your traditional power guys that are entrenched in the communities, they’ve been there forever because most power plants have been around a long time,” Davey says. “So you’ve got your fossil fuel technologies that have been around forever and then something new comes forward — whether that is solar, wind, geothermal, biomass — and it upsets the status quo. Most people want to see innovation happen, but they are scared to go down that path because it’s still relatively unknown.”

Not only is there a fear of the unknown, it’s the fear of higher production costs that keeps more energy innovation from happening.

“One of the defining challenges for the next decade and especially over the next century, will be to find an appropriate balance between the competing needs to supply electricity that is reliable, affordable and stays under an acceptable level of environmental impact,” says Mark Bonsall, general manager and CEO of Salt River Project (SRP). “One thing is clear – all the options are more expensive than our current portfolio of resources.”

LEGISLATIVE ROADBLOCKS

For some lawmakers, the fear may lie in being more concerned with losing votes than on losing economic development for the state. “We have incredibly cheap power here,” De Blasi says.

“We have a nuclear power plant that supplies us with efficient and cheap energy. People are used to that. That has fed into legislators not wanting to be responsible for raising people’s energy rates by forcing the utilities to spend money replacing traditional energy with renewables.”

One of the AEC’s goals, De Blasi says, is to work with the legislators to help create legislation that promotes business.

“I would love for us to be a resource for the legislators to come to as a neutral body, with a pro-business mindset,” De Blasi says. “It would help tremendously if lawmakers reached out to the community and asked what they thought proposed legislation would do to industry and get community input before they put bills out onto the street that wreak havoc on the industry and wreak havoc on financing. By the time they have to pull them back or resend them, the damage is already done.”

Providing guidance and education for legislators will be the key to developing Arizona’s energy industry in the future, Davey says.

“We have to get lawmakers to support the right bills and educate them the right way so the right bills get written,” he stresses. “Instead of having something out there that provides a lot of uncertainty when you are trying to get a project delivered, we just want to provide a level of clarity that doesn’t necessarily remove a whole lot of due process; it just makes it clear so that when you’re developing something, you know what the next hurdle is going to be.”

It’s clear that Arizona legislators need to stop and listen to the needs of their constituents. According to a new poll from the Arizona Working Families Coalition, almost half of the likely voters surveyed said job creation — including those that would arise from changes in the energy sector — should be legislators’ top priority.

“It’s clear that voters want their legislators to stay out of working people’s financial decisions and to focus on the economy,” says John Loredo, who is working with Arizona Working Families and is the former Arizona House minority leader. “If lawmakers continue to ignore the priorities of the people who put them in office, there will be some real consequences for them in November.”

The first step toward removing some of those hurdles came in November 2011 when the AEC unveiled “Arizona’s Solar Strategic Plan,” a document that proposes recommended actions for the long-term growth of the state’s solar industry. The recommendations focused on technology innovation, manufacturing and power generation.

“The Strategic Plan is meant to guide Arizona’s growing solar industry along a sustainable path,” De Blasi says. “Our goals are increased jobs, economic development, energy self-sufficiency and security, technology innovation and reduced greenhouse gas emissions — all resulting from increased use of solar energy as a component of a broader energy strategy. The AEC will be working hard to pull together the stakeholders to ensure that the plan is implemented — the crucial step that has been missing with previous proposed plans.”

The plan’s recommendations include incentives — preferably back-end performance-based funds — to nurture existing solar companies and attract new firms; looking for ways to attract private investment; and longer-term utility incentives to spur demand, rather than the current year-to-year options.

“We’re in a conservative state and there is some resistance to renewable energy, but there is nothing better than taxing the sun,” Davey says. “If we think about it from a more broad perspective, where it’s not just about servicing Arizona’s needs, it’s about servicing our neighbor’s needs as well. If there is policy in place that adversely affects our ability to build here, it also affects our ability to generate energy that we could sell out of state, which is something everyone in the business community wants to achieve.”

De Blasi and Davey say the Strategic Plan will serve as a jumping off point for the AEC to develop a broader Energy Roadmap that will be a catalyst to attract new business and create a more friendly energy-industry environment.

“The end result will be not unlike the long-term Bioscience Roadmap initiated by the Flinn Foundation, designed to make the state’s life sciences sector globally competitive,” says Steven G. Zylstra, president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. “Arizona possesses many of the essential elements necessary to become a global leader in energy, but must strengthen its focus, collaboration and will to achieve this goal.”

THE ENERGY ROADMAP

The AEC formed an Energy Roadmap subcommittee — led by De Blasi and Davey — to work with stakeholders and coordinate efforts that will further develop Arizona’s energy industry.

“There is the throwaway line that we want to be the Saudi Arabia of solar,” Davey says. “But right now, we are so far away from that, it doesn’t even matter.”

To ensure a competitive and secure economic future, De Blasi and Davey say the state must have a consensus-driven plan that will create a sustainable, safe, reliable, affordable, efficient, and diversified energy supply. Taking a page from the Bioscience Roadmap — which, since 2002, has helped Arizona increase the number of bioscience jobs by 41 percent and increase the state’s number of bioscience firms by 27 percent — De Blasi and Davey hope to design the Arizona Energy Roadmap, that will optimize Arizona’s unique assets, integrate regional investments and attract national and international interest as a place from which to conduct business.

“When you work in the energy industry every day, you realize the issues,” De Blasi says. “So to come up with a plan for the state, it’s just a matter of putting pen to paper and asking, ‘If I had my ultimate project or ultimate policies, what would that be? What are the stumbling blocks? What are the issues? What needs to be fixed and how do we go about fixing the problems?’”

The key issues that De Blasi and Davey say need to be addressed to make Arizona a more dynamic player in the energy industry are government policy and how it impacts the financing of energy projects; transmission of energy and how Arizona looks at transmission from both a statewide and regional perspective; and the state’s ability to use tax benefits to help different energy projects, something that has been difficult to make happen in Arizona, Davey says.

“It’s critical to change the message we send to potential developers — whether it’s the renewable energy industry or natural gas industry — and to stop pointing fingers and start working together and realize this is an energy mix,” De Blasi says. “Do we just want to be someone who gets all the crumbs from our neighboring states because that’s what we’ve gotten so far, or do we really want to be someone who leads and gets the benefit of the economic development and all the things that follow?”

To develop the content, identify issues, and generate feedback for the Roadmap, Davey and De Blasi are not turning to the usual suspects.

“They may not all be in the energy industry,” De Blasi says. “We want to talk with folks who have been in different industries, but have been successful in growing those industries. We want to pull in different ideas, different thoughts so that we can put together a comprehensive plan that we can implement successfully and will drive business.”

The most important thing the Energy Roadmap will do, Davey says, is create some clarity in an industry that has lacked clarity up until this point.

“Perception is reality,” Davey points out. “When you have a document — even if it’s not fully implemented yet — the perception will be that at least the state is moving in the right direction. It will be what helps differentiate us or at least put us on a level playing field with others who already have plans in place.”

De Blasi and Davey say they hope to have the Arizona Energy Roadmap drafted within the next couple months, although elements of the energy roadmap — such as the Solar Strategic Plan — may be released in stages. But once it’s released and implemented, Davey says it will send a message to developers like himself.

“It will say to the world, ‘Arizona is open for business,’” he says. “Once you provide clarity and certainty, money follows and projects get done. Once projects are done, there is job creation and a new diverse economy that comes from a supply chain. We will end up with different glass manufacturers, plastic manufacturers, steel manufacturers, aluminum manufacturers, and fabricators that are going to be here that aren’t here today. You’re going to have the best engineers here. Their kids are going to go to school here, so the education system will be impacted.

“Arizona has the land, the environment, the proximity to an incredible market, to not only put something in place to service our domestics market, but to service neighboring markets as well,” Davey says. “So if the Energy Roadmap is able to create an environment that creates that certainty and clarity so that business can prosper, that would be something pretty good to walk away from.”

For those individuals and companies who want to become a member of the AEC and are not already members of the Arizona Technology Council, the AZTC is waiving its membership requirement to participate in the AEC for 2012. For more information, contact Lauren Ferrigni at lferrigni@aztechcouncil.org.

For more information on the Arizona Energy Consortium and the Energy Roadmap, visit the Arizona Technical Council’s website at aztechcouncil.org/committees/aec.

The Arizona Energy Consortium is establishing the energy roadmap to create a brighter economic future for Arizona. The following individuals are leading the charge.

Robert BowlingCompany: First Solar

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-Chair of the Workforce Development Committee, which focuses its efforts on current barriers to Arizona’s energy workforce development, as well as devising potential solutions to overcome such barriers.

Relationship to the energy industry:25 years of power generation experience in Fossil, Hydro and PV.

Why he became involved with the AEC:“Having always been ‘involved’ in various initiatives throughout Arizona, I saw the value that this consortium has towards the greater good for all Arizonans.”

Why he thinks Arizona needs the AEC:“As a nation we all understand the various issues surrounding energy dependence. The Arizona Energy Consortium will help AZ be the leader in a variety of energy issues.”

Predicted impact the AEC will make on Arizona by 2022:“Hopefully by making Arizona the leader in lost cost, sustainable energy production and a hub for energy innovations.”

Tekla TaylorCompany: Golder Associates, Inc.

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-Chair of the Membership Committee, which is dedicated to growing the Arizona Energy Consortium in terms of membership recruitment, as well as promoting the AEC in the form of event planning and hosting. Members of this committee will be responsible for identifying members who could positively contribute to, as well as benefit from, involvement within the AEC.

Relationship to the energy industry:Manager, Golder Energy Services US

Why she become involved with the AEC:“Actively participating in AEC keeps us informed of the opportunities and challenges that face energy sector growth in Arizona thereby impacting our clients.”

Why she thinks Arizona needs the AEC:“Collaboration among all stakeholders in the industry is critical to ensuring long term success and placing Arizona as a leader in the renewable energy market.”

Predicted impact the AEC will make on Arizona by 2022:“Through design and implementation of innovative renewable market solutions, AEC will have a significant impact on market sector growth, diversity and economic development.”

Mary Wolf-FrancisCompany: DIRTT Environmental Solutions

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-Chair of the Energy Efficiency Committee, which is responsible for reviewing energy efficiency programs, as well as current barriers to energy efficiency across a wide range of Arizona energy sectors (solar, natural gas, oil, coal, nuclear, wind, geothermal, etc.). Members are encouraged upon review of energy efficiency barriers, to develop potential solutions that would maximize energy efficiency and encourage future Arizona project development.

Relationship to the energy industry:Business liaison for the State Energy Sector Partnership Grant that brought the Arizona Energy Consortium into fruition as part of the objectives in the grant.

Why she became involved with the AEC:Brought companies in energy efficiency, renewable energy, sustainability and utilities together to discuss creating the AEC then passed the torch to Michelle De Blasi and Steve Zylstra at the Arizona Technology Council.

Why she thinks Arizona needs the AEC:“Companies in Arizona need to work together to grow and sustain energy companies here in the state.

Predicted impact the AEC will make on Arizona by 2022:“The AEC will be the catalyst for diversifying our energy companies here in Arizona to reduce our reliance on the grid.”

Chris DaveyCompany: EnviroMission

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-chair of the Arizona Energy Consortium and co-chair of the Energy Roadmap Committee, which will focus its efforts on developing and implementing an Energy Sector Roadmap for Arizona. Documents such as, Arizona’s Solar Strategic Plan and Arizona Town Hall’s AZ’s Energy Future Report will be utilized in constructing the Energy Sector Roadmap.

Relationship to the energy industry:As executive director of EnviroMission, he has been vital to the development of the first U.S. Solar Tower project in western Arizona. He has negotiated a number of Power Purchase Agreements, secured parcels of land with both governmental and private bodies, raised capital to deliver the unique Solar Tower technology and advocated on behalf of the solar industry.

Why he became involved with the AEC:“I want to put something in place to make it easier for people to get done what I’m getting done now. I’m from 8,000 miles away, but I call Arizona home now and I want to make it a better place.”

Michelle De BlasiCompany: Quarles & Brady

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-chair of the Arizona Energy Consortium and co-chair of the Energy Roadmap Committee, which will focus its efforts on developing and implementing an Energy Sector Roadmap for Arizona. Documents such as Arizona’s Solar Strategic Plan and Arizona Town Hall’s AZ’s Energy Future Report will be utilized in constructing the Energy Sector Roadmap.

Relationship to the energy industry:She is chair of the firm’s Solar Energy Law Team and focuses her practice on guiding renewable energy projects from concept to completion. In addition, she practices in the area of environmental and natural resources law advising clients on federal and state air and water quality issues.

Why she became involved with the AEC:“With its solar resource and geographic proximity to target markets such as California, Arizona has an opportunity to revitalize its economy by continuing to grow its clean energy sector. By combining business leadership with guidance for good public policy, the Arizona Energy Consortium will play an important role in helping Arizona achieve its clean energy sector expansion goals.”

Position with Arizona Energy Consortium:Co-chair of the Public Outreach Committee, which is responsible for educating investors, developers, legislators, and the general public on the Arizona Energy Consortium and the energy industry.

Relationship to the energy industry:“I began my work in the energy industry as an attorney with the Gila River Indian Community and founded their Renewable Energy Team in 2010. I began my position at NAU in April 2011 and have been developing the Tribal Clean Energy Resource Center, which will help tribes and Alaska Native Villages transition from fossil fuel based energy to clean and renewable energy. For 20 years, ITEP has become a national leader in training and educating tribes in the environmental mediums and has served more than 500 of the 565 tribes nationally.”

Why she become involved with the AEC:“I want the 22 tribes of Arizona to be included in the process of developing the Energy Roadmap and seeking their input is essential to accomplishing the mission.”

Why she thinks Arizona needs the AEC:“Arizona has many great organizations, but AEC captures all of them into one group and unites the renewable-energy sector. Becoming more organized and united will make Arizona a leader in this industry.”

Predicted impact the AEC will make on Arizona by 2022:”The AEC will help Arizona become a leader in the renewable energy industry nationally.”